The Origins of Batman
by WhoThere
Summary: Bruce has been Batman for a year now fighting crime in Gotham city, but new villains are rising and Gotham is becoming that bit more dangerus. Warning: Some scenes are graphic.
1. Chapter 1: A New Villain

Disclaimer: I do not own Batman or DC.

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A/N: Ok, first things first the main people in this story are those out of the BB and TDK. Second things...second is that i don't know loads about the DC universe so if i get something wrong just say so and I'll correct it, third is enjoy the story and please review, tell me your thoughts.

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Chapter 1

A New Villain

"Gotham is getting worse Alfred."

"It has only been one year Master Wayne; you need to be more patient, Gotham won't change overnight."

"Crime rates have gone up, more and more mob bosses are appearing."

"Don't lose faith Sir, if the hero dies then so does everyone else."

Bruce sat in the bat cave going over the past year he had been Batman, he had spread fear into hearts of criminals everywhere by taking down mobs one by one. He had even become Gothams hero earning the trust of the police department. But all of a sudden things started to get worse again. Criminals would pop up out of nowhere and cause more havoc then ever before. More drug dealers appeared as well as weapon suppliers, but there was one gang in particular. They were the most dangerous and whoever their leader was he appeared to have an extremely high IQ; even Bruce had trouble figuring out their next move. One thing he didn't understand though was why they dressed up like…

"Clown's, Master Wayne?" Alfred questioned.

"They wear clown masks."

"What's so special about them?"

"Normally I wouldn't bother but the way they execute there plans is flawless."

"Do you know who the ring leader is?"

"No, but he'll show himself soon; he'll show himself to me to prove he can out smart me."

SOMEWHERE IN GOTHAM IN AN ABANDONED WAREHOUSE

Thirteen mob bosses sat around a table that seemed to be falling to pieces, moonlight shone through the broken windows and barely lit the place. A man walked out from the shadows and headed to the top of the table; he pulled out a battered playing card and threw it in to the centre of the table. The apprehensive bosses looked at the card confused; one of them read it out.

"Joker?" His voice echoed thought the warehouse.

The mysterious man walked forwards into the light, his unruly green hair hung in front of his black covered eyes; his face was covered in white but still showed some parts of skin. But what everyone was staring at was his mouth; he had two scars on each side, shaped into a smile with red paint smeared on them and over his lips.

"What the hell are you?" One of the bosses mumbled.

"I'm a Joker among the pack."

"What did you bring us here for?" Another Mob boss said.

"I brought you here for a good reason, lately a hell of a lot of your thugs have been caught…….who by?"

"Batman."

"Correct, now a considerably less amount of my so called thugs have not been caught; do you know why that is?"

A tanned man stood up and stared Joker in the eye. His name was Mr. Wolfe; a very powerful drug baron that you certainly wouldn't want to as an enemy. "That's because you kill all of your thugs! Now tell us why the hell you brought us here freak!"

For most people if someone had said that to them they would be mad, but Joker stayed the same, his anger didn't rise at all; almost inhuman. "I brought you here to say that I'm the new head crime boss of Gotham city and if you don't like it then leave town, but if you do stay then you have to pay a percentage of all your illegal profits."

"I guess that's why you're the called Joker because you're making…"

Joker cut him off. "One hell of a Joke I know, I thought you might say something that so that's why I took the consideration of placing bombs in all of your homes and offices and if you think I'm bluffing then watch this." He pulled out a box with thirteen buttons on it and names underneath them. Joker pressed the button and an explosion could be heard followed by another explosion soon after.

"Get him." Joker commanded and two thugs appeared out of the shadows and held Mr. Wolfe at gunpoint. Joker walked up to Wolfe and pulled out a knife, his face was filled with anger.

"You should learn to smile more Mr. Wolfe and you'll find that your trouble will simply go away," Joker licked his lips like a snake. "Take a page out of my book, I'm constantly smiling whether I want to or not."

He put the blade up to Wolfe's cheek and lowered his voice to a threatening sound. "Do you know how I got these scars? No thought not, see not many people do. Once I was a decant guy, not perfect but decent. One of the things I did was give a lot of money to crime causes, stop this and stop that. One of the main ones was knife crime, now one day after work I was mugged at knife point and one of the muggers said to me "why so serious?" and cut a smile into my face. Now I can see the funny side of that, can you?"

Wolfe didn't reply; he didn't know what to say.

Joker turned to his thugs. "Give him a dose of his own medicine and make sure it's a large dose, let's see how long you can last before you die a death that most of buyers die."

Wolfe was dragged off and Joker turned back to the twelve other bosses and stared at them. "Any other objections?"

THE NEXT DAY

As Bruce headed towards Wayne Enterprises with Alfred driving him he read the newspaper. "Wolfe was found dead last night overdosed on heroin and his office building and mansion blown up. His wife and two kids died in the explosion as well as countless other employees." Bruce sighed. "This isn't what I wanted; this isn't justice by killing other people."

"Do you have any idea who was behind the murder Master Wayne?"

"What makes you think it's a murder Alfred?"

He smiled to himself. "Perhaps I've looking after Batman for too long."

Bruce smiled back, he could always count on Alfred to look after him, and ever since Bruce lost his parents he was there; Alfred was all he had now. "Looks like it's going to be a late night tonight, I'm going to find Wolfe's killer."

"Look's like a dark night too." Alfred added grimly.

At Wayne Enterprises Bruce meet Lucius Fox in his office. Fox was the New CEO. Bruce felt he needed the family company to be looked after by someone he trusted, trusted enough to not worry why he might not always be in work.

"Well, well; nice of you to join us."

"Lucius." Bruce shock his hand.

"So Mr. Wayne, what can I help you with today?"

"Night-vision."

Fox looked at Bruce confused. "Night-vision?"

"Yeah for seeing in the dark, I need it to be like sonar though and connected to my mask."

"Sonar vision, like a bat's?"

"Exactly."

Bruce and Fox headed towards the elevator that would take them to the science division.

"So you finally decided to get something to help you see in the dark then?" Fox said.

"I need more of an edge on my enemies."

"Why not get a partner?"

Bruce smiled at the thought. "Have some know it all kid following me around, I don't think so."

The lift stopped gently and the doors slid open gracefully revealing a huge workshop full of high-tech gadgets.

"Most of the stuff we have down here is pretty big." Fox said searching for the right box. "Big as in it should be on a plane or submarine, but I think I might just have the one for you." He pulled out what looked like metal swimming goggles and handed them to Bruce who in turn put them on. The eyes lit up a bright white colour and Bruce could see everything, even through walls.

"You can get these cut into any design and more or less any size you want, these also come with a zoom in feature, up to half a mile, anything else you wanted?"

"Stronger body armour, lots of guns about lately."

LATER ON THAT DAY IN THE BAT-CAVE

Bruce fitted the night vision into his Batman mask; this would surely give him the advantage when dropping in on his enemies, make him seem more inhuman which is what criminals seemed to fear most. Alfred was at the huge computer that stored almost every single bit of information on Gotham, Bruce handed him a disc.

"Load this program on to the computer. You will be able to control the use of my night vision as well and let you see what I see." Bruce explained.

"Thank you sir, now I can watch you getting pummeled as well as patching you up afterwards."

"Exactly, it will also let me control it by voice activation. " Bruce put his mask on and nodded to Alfred. He pressed a button on the huge keyboard and white lenses covered both his eyes; with the whole bat suit on his demeanor would become so much more menacing.

"I'm sure criminals will think twice now about attacking you Master Wayne."

"Let's hope so Alfred."

As the day turned into night Bruce decided to test his new night vision and stronger armour. He was waiting for a crime, almost willing for one; but living in Gotham City he didn't need to wait for long.

"There appears to be a disturbance at Shreck industries main office." Alfred reported.

"Max Shreck, the crime boss?" Batman said.

"Yes sir."

Batman's cape sprung into shape and he glided along the top of Gotham's sky line drawing ever closer to Shreck's office. He crashed in through the window and landed in the middle of several thugs who were holding a man with a bin bag over his head. Batman's guessed it was Max; they were all wearing clown masks.

"Who do you work for?" Batman demanded in his gravely voice.

A man in a grubby purple suit walked out of the shadows. "That would be…me, the new head crime boss of Gotham City."

"What do you want with Shreck?" Batman said his eyes scanning the room for all the lights.

Joker laughed to him self. "What, you not gunna ask who I am? What my goal in life is. Why I'm doing this?"

Batman didn't reply.

"I guess not then, oklet's see if the world's greatest detective can figure out my plan; a while ago Mr. Wolfe was found overdosed and his house and office blown up into very small pieces. I'm now here at Shreck industries with Max in my deranged possession," Joker took his hand from behind his back to revel a detonator.

Batman's eye's widened having figured out what was going to happen next.

"If I press the button our friend here goes boom, now I know that you won't let me do that so I have an ultimatum for you. If you get to him in time then I won't detonate him, but if you don't then…" Joker shrugged his shoulders. "There will be a bit of a mess and your nice Batman suit will get messy," He smiled. "You'll have to trust me on this one…and…3, 2, 1 CATCH!"

Batman spun round to see Joker's thugs holding Max to the huge open windows and pushing him through them, he run towards the window and jumped out of them fearlessly.

Joker walked to the window and peered out. "Higher than I thought."

Batman reached for Max's limp hand. Throughout the whole ordeal he had not moved at all, one of the thugs must have knocked him out. The ground was drawing ever closer and the two men were still falling through the air at great speed. Batman fired his grappling hook from his hand, still trying to reach Max's hand. He grabbed it at the last moment just as the hook latched on to something solid.

"Night-Vision!" Batman demanded. Two white lenses covered his eye holes in his mask; as he looked at Max to see where the bomb was he noticed something else. His heart wasn't beating. The night vision worked like sonar.

"Night-Vision off." He pulled the bin bag off of Max's head and saw two smiles cut from each side of his mouth. The blood had congealed to look like one big bloodied smile. Just then the top floor blew up and every other floor heading towards Batman, he let go of his grappling hook and fell the last few floors waiting for the last moment to spread open his cape to form two big bat wings. The force of the blast caught up to Batman and flung him into the building across the street, another explosion could be heard in the distance too.

Gothams new villain was proving to be more cunning and sick minded then ever before, but worst of all he was extremely clever and he knew it.

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A/N: So what did you think of it, how well did i write the characters...or how bad did i write them, please review and tell me. Thanks.


	2. Chapter 2: Joker

Disclaimer: I do not own Batman or DC.

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Chapter 2

Joker

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THE BAT CAVE

Bruce pulled his Batman mask off and threw it across the rocky floor of the bat cave in anger.

"You can't blame yourself Master Wayne." Alfred said.

"Yes i can, another two buildings have been blown up, Max Shreck is dead and this....clown.."

"Joker." Alfred corrected.

"What?"

He handed Bruce the newspaper, the head line read_: **JOKER STRIKES AGAIN! **_

"He leaves a calling card, quite literary; a joker playing card and the victims face cut into a smile much like Shreck last night."

Bruce sat back in his chair and closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "He must feel fear, something that makes him stand rooted to the spot; i've just got to find out what it is."

"The sooner the better Master Wayne, because he's already found out your weakness."

He stared at Alfred coldly then walked off. "I don't have a weakness."

"You're compassionate."

"That's not a weakness Alfred it's a strength ."

"This Joker character now knows that you would sacrifice your own life for anyone, and he will use it against you."

"So what you're saying is i should stop caring?"

"No, what im saying is don't let him control you with it."

Bruce got into the lift that took him up back up to Wayne Manor, he looked at the clock and it read 9:23, he had twelve minutes until a business meeting at Wayne Enterprises; normally he would leave the meeting to the board members and Lucius Fox but this one interested him. Another company called Techico was offering to merge with Wayne Enterprises and they specialised in technology; military technology to be precise. But recently they had launched a campaign to help Gotham Police Department by supporting them with high-tech gadgets so it would be easier to fight crime in Gotham. Plus Bruce could always use some of their tech to boost up his Batman suit or vehicle. Another important aspect about the meeting was that if Wayne Enterprises signed them up it would put them miles ahead of their rivals, LexCorp.

He quickly got dressed into his dark blue suit and raced down to the garage and sped off in his Lamborghini breaking several speeding laws, but the closer he got to Wayne Enterprises the more police cars he saw heading towards it. When Bruce arrived the whole building had been surrounded by SWAT teams and policemen. Commissioner Gordon walked up to Bruce's car and knocked on the window. He opened it.

"What's going on?" Bruce asked.

"This launatic calling himself Joker is holding everyone in your building hostage, if we get too close everyone in there dies."

"What does he want, i can give him money." Bruce said, once again acting stupid so no one would ever suspect him as Batman.

"We don't know, he hasn't given any demands yet; i suggest you go home and wait for me to call you if anything happens."

"Do you want my number." Bruce went to pull out his moblie.

"It's all right Mr. Wayne, we've already got it."

Gordon headed back to a group of police officers and Bruce sped off back to Wayne Manor.

Inside Wayne Enterprises in the office where Bruce was supposed to be for the meeting Joker had separated the board members and Techico.

"What do you want?" Lucius asked calmly so as not to provoke Joker.

"Good question Mr. Fox...let me explain, you were going to join..er..FORCES with this company to make the world a better place..or Gotham at least. Now the man in charge of Techico....Mr. Lee-Chung...just happens to be one of the thirteen...eleven...mob bosses of Gotham; and you know what i do to mob bosses."

"So what do you need us for, Lee-Chung isn't here." Lucius pointed out.

"True...and i know why he isn't here...he's about to be chopped up and sent to his friends and family...ooorr...maybe just shot and dumped into the river, see i'm a man of changing tastes. HAHAHAAHAHHAHAHA!"

As Joker laughed Batman smashed through the window and landed in front of him.

"Now here's what I wanted, you fascinate me...at first i wanted to kill you but now after our last confrontation I think it would be more fun to keep you alive."

"Why do you want me alive?"

"Because your....just.....like...ME!"

Batman grabbed Joker by the collar and smashed him against the wall. "I'm nothing like you."

"HOOHAHAHAAAHAAH! Now that's the funniest thing i've heard all year, look at you...you hide your face, so do i...sort off. You take down thugs, so do i...i've done what's taken you a year and probably more to do...i've taken care off three crime bosses,"

"What do you mean three?!"

"Mr. Lee-Chung head of Techico was a....secret....crime boss, and don't even bother trying to save him because your too late."

"You're sick Joker and you're going to Arkham, but i'm going make your life hell first." He threatened.

"There's the Batman i know, the Dark Knight that spreads fear into everyones hearts...even the innocent, but not me, nope never. Looking at you in daylight you don't look that scary...you just look some freak who likes Bat's and thinks he's a hero."

Batman dragged Joker across the floor to the window.

"Ooww here we go." Joker mocked.

Batman smashed him through the glass and held him in mid air, Joker looked down at the breath taking drop.

"HAHAHHA! Come on DROP ME!! Kill me and it will all be over, no more blood will be will on your hands....KILL ME.."

Batman let go of his collar and Joker plummeted to the floor picking up more and more speed and laughing manically, right at the last moment he felt something grab his ankle. It was Batman's grappling hook, Joker was left hanging upside down; Gordon walked over to him and looked him in the eye.

Joker smiled and quietly laughed. "He couldn't do it...and that's what'll kill him."

Batman walked over to Lucius and helped him up. "You ok?"

"I'm fine."

"Where are the rest of Jokers thugs?"

Lucius frowned. "There are none, it was just him; almost makes you think he wanted to get caught." He walked over to the shattered windows and sighed. "Looks like Mr. Wayne needs to invest in stronger windows."

Batman half smiled at him as he flung himself out the window and glided towards the gloomy landscape of Gotham city.

ARKHAM ASYLUM

Joker found himself in a small eroded cell, in the corner was a grime covered toilet and a rusting sink hanging from the wall; he lay on the unconformable mattress feeling the springs dig into his back, two Arkham guards opened the cell door and escorted him into a huge white room that was slpit into two parts. A thick panel of glass split the room up and a single table and chair was on each side. Joker sat down on the chair and rested his arms on the table calmly. On the other side a skinny man with black unruly hair and glasses sat reading a file.

"Joker, can you hear me?" The man asked, slightly nervous.

"Do i..err...scare you?"

The man took a deep breath. "No, you intrigue."

"I intrigue you...oh...goood...that's exactly what i said to Batman today just a few hours ago, maybe me and you aren't that different Mr......"

"Crane, Jonathan Crane."

BAT CAVE

Bruce sat at his huge computer typing away furiously, Alfred set down some soup next to him.

"You might jump off of rooftops and think yourself invincible but you still need to eat."

Bruce picked up the bowl and spoon and eat the soup, lately he found himself missing meals and one of the things Alfred always said was "I'll acccept the fact that you dress up as a bat and fight crime but for goodness sakes eat something".

"So what were you doing sir?"

Bruce snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, err, I was trying to set up a visual link with Arkham but their systems seem to be almost impenetrable."

"Almost Sir?"

"The only place i can gain a video link is the store room, their security network is maintained by someone called Edward Nigma."

"I'm sure this Joker is safely locked away." Alfred said.

"It's not the security I'm worried about, it's him."

"What do you mean?"

"We've met twice now and neither time has he tried to attack me, he talks and analyzes you. Tries to twist your perception of the world."

"He tries to turn you into himself?"

Bruce sat looking at Alfred sternly. "I think he should be left to die."

Alfred's eyes widened in disbelief.

Bruce carried on. " Some people are beyond saving, something happened to him in his life and it has derailed him mentally."

"The Batman I know would never kill, that's what seperates you from the criminals."

"But what do i do Alfred? When the day comes that someone is about to do something so terrible that i have no choice."

"You pray that day never comes Sir, or you can be one step ahead. That's what Batman does, he strikes fear into the heart of criminals by knowing what there going to do next...even if it's before they know it."

Day turned into night and Gotham was quiet, apart from the random muggings and car jacking's; it felt like every criminal in Gotham was too scared to come out. But Batman felt it was not because of him, it was because of Joker. Even when he was locked up he still had an influence over the city, what Batman had tried to get for months and he'd achieved it in days. But little did the worlds greatest detective know was Joker had another plan, Joker wanted to "have his fun" with Batman and that involved his psychiatrist Jonathan Crane.

A whole troop of masked thugs had broke into Arkham and got Joker out. Their number was unbelievable, it was as if every low life scum in Gotham was working for him; but before they left they knocked Crane unconscious and took him with them as they prisoner...hostage or worse.

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	3. Chapter 3: The Bat and The Crow

Chapter 3

The Bat and The Crow

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"Wake up...come on...rise and shine.."

Jonathan Crane felt a hand tapping his face and heard a familiar, crazed but calm voice, the kind you would have nightmares about; however Crane knew he wasn't dreaming as his nightmares consisted of something much more dark and disturbing. Something a psychiatrist would have a field day with...which was quite ironic. As he opened his eyes the sun light almost blinded him and he had to squint.. He realized that they were in a warehouse and that he was tied to a chair.

Joker pulled Crane's chair around so the sun was now on his back. "There, all better." Joker was wearing a white lab coat and had a stethoscope round his neck and Crane's glasses on.

"Why have you got my glasses?" He said weakly.

".....No reason," Joker put them back on Crane. "Now...your wondering why I've got you here...well..let me tell you. You're ah.....going to be part of an experiment of mine. You and me are alike in so many ways, one of the main being....we..a n n a l i z e everyone. We like to see.." Joker turned round to see if anyone was listening, he was acting stranger than usual; he then leaned in and whispered. "We like to see....how people work, what makes their mind turn...but first I'm going to tell you a secret.."

Once again Joker turned round to see if anyone was listening. "I make all this up as i go along, see i have a..err...goal in mind and i set out to achieve it but what ever happens in between is...luck...hahahehe...and look how lucky I've been so far." Joker stood up and pulled his lab coat and stethoscope off leaving him in a light blue shirt and dark blue tie.

"So far I've killed three of Gothams most feared Mob bosses, Mr. Wolfe...well...he had a taste of his own medicine...Mr. Shreck went bang, but he died with a smile on his face and finally Mr. Lee-Chung died...well you don't want to know...trust me. I did all that without really planing it, but imagine if i did plan something....imagine..if...i...planned..."

"To kill Batman." Crane butted in.

Jokers face twitched. "NO! We don't want to kill Batman, not yet nor ever...but what we want to do to him is...is..push him to his limits...make him cross that one line he holds so close...that line that separates him from us."

"Us?" Crane said really beginning to sweat.

Joker licked his lips like a snake and pulled out a knife and held it up to Crane's mouth. "Do you know how I got these scars?"

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ARKHAM ASYLUM

Commissioner Gordon stood looking at a wall, fixated by it; but what was so interesting was what was on the wall. The words "Why so serious?" were painted on the wall in blood.

"Whose blood?" Batman asked Gordon in his gravely voice.

"Lee-Chung's."

"Where's his body?"

Gordon handed Batman an urn with a smile and a note saying "LeE-CHunG, ReSt iN pieCEs lUv JoKeR"

"He also took a Dr Jonathan Crane with him, a psychiatrist who works here at Arkham; an investigation was recently launched about....."

"About him testing some kind of a fear gas on patients here, i read the files."

"We've already taken a sample of the blood and ash in the urn for forensic tests, just to be sure. What i don't understand is why would he take Crane with him, he had no contact with Joker."

Batman stared at the bloodied wall, he knew Joker was dangerous and everything he did had a point to it, but this was erratic and that's what unnerved Batman. "When Joker was here in Arkham who was assigned as his psychiatrist?"

"No one, he was to be left in his cell untill someone volunteered."

"There were all scared of him."

A flash lit up the room, much like a camera flash; Batman and Gordon spun round to see a woman in her early thirties with long brown hair. She smiled nervously.

"How did you get past?" Gordon quizzed.

"I'm very creative." She smiled innocently now realizing that this was a bad idea.

"I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave now Miss?"

"Vale, Vicki Vale; photographer for Gotham Times....couldn't I just get a picture of Batman. I thought he could do with some good press."

"I don't like having my picture taken Miss Vale." Batman replied sternly.

Gordon called an officer over for Vicki to be escorted back out of Arkham.

"So I....." He looked round to see that Batman had once again vanished. "Maybe one day he'll teach me how to do that." Gordon sighed.

Batman sat in the Batmoblie, it was like a huge black tank. He pressed a button and a screen appeared, it showed the room him and Gordon had just been in.

"Alfred you there?"

"Always Sir."

"I've planted a small device on a camera in Arkham, it picks up the frequency they use, I need you to run a scan so the computer can decode it. Once it's done that I will be able to hack into every other camera in the Asylum."

"Ever so clever Sir."

"I'm going to make my rounds, don't wait up."

"Try to come back in one piece sir."

* * *

Days had past and there had been no sign of Joker, mainly because he had been spending all his time with Dr. Crane; he had been slowly peeling back the layers of his mind and now Crane was almost ready.

"Insanity is a fine line Doctor, now...I'm not insane, just waaayyy ahead of the time. You on the other hand ARE insane, after so many doses of your fear toxin which my men managed to steal. You are pushing the boundaries of insanity..."

Joker sprayed the gas over Crane again who begain to shout and scream. "ARRGGGHHH! Get them away! GET THEM AWAY FROM ME!!!!"

"What do your fear Doctor?"

Crane went ridged then slowly turned his head towards Joker. Reminiscent of a horror movie, he laughed silently to begin with then it got louder and louder. Joker grabbed his face. "What..do..you..fear?"

Crane whispered. "...Scarecrow..."

* * *

WAYNE ENTERPRISES

Lucius Fox took the elevator down to Wayne Enterprises basement. The science division was located here. This was where Bruce had first come to him when he constructed the Bat-Suit and where he got all of his gadgets from. Lucius liked it down here; it was quiet. The only people that ever really ventured here was him or Bruce which made it feel personal. As Lucius looked around he saw boxes on the floor that shouldn't be there.

"Mr. Wayne you really should tidy up after yourself."

Bruce popped his head out from one of the boxes. "I will once I've finished."

Fox smiled. "What's a big shot like you dong down here...again?"

"I remember reading somewhere we had smoke grenades, flash bangs and tear gas."

Lucius nodded. "We do, but you're looking in the wrong place; this is were we keep our telescopic guns. Mainly grappling guns but some of them can shot out sticky grenades."

"Handy."

Lucius lead Bruce over to where he should of been looking. "Oh i meant to tell you Mr. Wayne, our contract with Techico fell through. In fact Techico fell through too, so it looks like LexCorp will be right behind us as usual tyring to beat our sales. Also I made these." He lifted open a crate and inside were two black gauntlets. "These are new on the market, one of a kind so to speak."

Bruce smiled. "What do they do?"

"Well they come with these gloves as well. Small electrical impulses are sent into the gloves when you activate it so it gives of more of a shock when you're hammering the bad guys."

"Nice, so it gives the receiver twice the impact of my punch."

"Exactly, but remember, you have to activate it first and the current is only felt when you make contact with someone...punching contact that is. Now the blades that stick out of you gauntlets are twice as strong as before and they stick out at seven cm but they can grow to ten cm."

"Grow?"

"Well, rather spring out than grow."

"Thanks for this, I'll make sure to use it properly."

Lucius opened up another box and inside were small smoke grenades, flash bangs, tear gas and even explosives.

"You keep explosives down here?"

"Small explosives, wouldn't do that much damage. Mainly used for destroying locks on doors or doors themselves."

"What if they go off?"

"Well the way I see it is you take most of the dangerous devices back home with you so..."

"So if they do blow up its my problem." Bruce finished, smiling.

Lucius looked at his watch. "I better get going, I've got a party to go to."

"Oh yeah, whose is it?"

"Yours Mr. Wayne."

At Wayne Manner guests were starting to arrive for the party, it had been arranged by Alfred as a fund raiser for the Gotham Police Department; Bruce had said yes to it but hadn't really been listening to what he was saying yes too. On the guest list was Vicki Vale, this time she didn't have her camera; she had been assigned to write a piece about the party, but the main thing she was looking forward too was an interview with the Prince of Gotham himself, Bruce Wayne. She had always fancied him; along with every woman Gotham.

Bruce sped home in his Lamborghini Reventon ignoring any red lights and passing several flashing speed cameras, somehow he managed not to get caught by any police patrol cars; probably because they were all at his party.

Guests were flooding into Wayne Manner. Vicki decided to interview as many people as possible while keeping an eye out for Bruce, something about him drew her to him. Something she couldn't explain. She snapped out of her day dream when people started to clap, Vicki looked round to see what was going on. Bruce Wayne had just entered the room, the star of the ball, he sort of looked like he was out of breath a bit. "Weird" She thought.

Bruce made a speech. "I'd like to thank you all for coming here to night and...contributing towards making Gotham a safer place by helping the Police Department, maybe they'll be a bit more lenient with my speeding tickets now." The crowd laughed, the kind of fake posh laugh that says we only hang around with you because you're rich and famous. "The drinks are on me so enjoy the night, I know I will."

Vicki pushed past the crowd. "Mr. Wayne..excuse me..Mr. Wayne."

Bruce spun round. "Vicki Vale right?" Already knowing who she was from a couple of nights ago. "You're a photographer aren't you? Where's your camera?"

She blushed a little. "I'm also journalist."

"Write your own stories and take the pictures, nice."

"Do you mind if I interview you?"

"Not at all Miss Vale."

"Ok, Mr. Wayne,"

"Call me Bruce, everyone else does."

"Bruce..What are your reasons for helping Gotham Police Department?"

"Well, I thought they could do with the extra money to help them clean up the city a bit."

"What's the real reason Bruce?"

"What do you mean."

"I think your not as...stupid as you pretend to be...I think it's a cover up."

Bruce started to have a bad feeling about this interview now. "Err..a cover up for what?"

This was what Vicki had wanted to say to Bruce for ages, what she had always thought. "I think it's a cover up for that lonely boy inside who still misses his parents...I know what it's like you know."

Bruce felt speechless, she understood him; even if they'd only just met something between them clicked. Something neither could explain and it scared him.

"Well Vicki, I'm sorry that you lost your parents but...erm...I have to go now and.....greet other guests."

Vicki was left standing there on her own. "Oh god, where the hell did that come from? Why the hell did I just say that...idiot."

Bruce went outside to get some fresh air. "That was...different." He mumbled.

Up in the sky a symbol of a Bat was showing, Bruce rushed back inside bumping into Vicki.

"Oh god Bruce I'm so sorry about what I just said I...."

"It's ok really...how about I take you out for dinner sometime."

"Oh...I..Ok then."

"I'll call you." Bruce called out walking off.

A few people looked round at Vicki and she smiled to herself and said just loud enough for them to hear. "Yep..date with Bruce Wayne."

Down in the Bat-cave Alfred tried to persuade Bruce not to go while he was putting on the batsuit. "Do you really have to go Sir, your guests are up there expecting to talk to and see Bruce Wayne."

"I have to go Alfred, the day I ignore it I'll regret it."

"What do I tell the guests?"

"Tell them I'm my room."

"Doing what?"

Bruce smiled now putting on the Batman mask. "Use your imagination." He jumped into the Batmobile and sped off towards the Bat-Signal.

Alfred sighed. "I'll tell them you went for a walk outside, as your very found of the night life."

Batman followed the huge amount of police cars and ended up at a chemical factory. Gordon was outside with the police who had it surrounded.

"What's going on?" Batman asked bluntly, Gordon spun round not realising he was behind him.

"Oh its you."

"You called me." He said pointing to the sky.

"That wasn't us and only I activate it as I've got the key."

Batman frowned, even though he looked like he was constantly frowning. "Who's in there?"

"We don't know, we were about to storm the place; but every time we get close someone screams."

"Screams?"

"Like there being scared half to death."

Batman fired his grappling hook into the building and it pulled him towards it, he smashed through a window and landed on a metal walk way. He slowly walked forward trying not to create anymore noise, using all his techniques taught to him. He saw a movement in the shadows and someone fell to the floor shaking. Batman jumped down next to them, the man looked up in pure fear.

"Are you hurt?"

"Don't hurt me..please don't hurt me."

"What happened to you?"

"Just keep away from me....STAY BACK!"

"I'm not here to hurt you."

"Oh I think he is." Came a voice from out of the shadows.

"Who are you?"

"I used to be a psychiatrist who worked at Arkham..until i was kidnapped by...a...a madman, now I've come here to test my controversial....fear..inducing toxins...or fear gas as people called it. Would you like to try some?"

"Crane?" Batman said realising who it was.

"No no...not Crane anymore," He stepped out of the shadows, he was wearing a suit, a black trench coat and a stitched up burlap sack over his head. "Scarecrow."


End file.
